Ohio's questions about undocumented immigrants program block driver's licenses for some

Both, with their families, came to this county as undocumented immigrantswhen they were children. And both have been accepted in a new federal program that gives them temporary legal status, allowing them to get work permits and Social Security numbers, which they have.

But when it comes to getting an Ohio driver's license, the two young peopledon't match up -- Mendez was denied a license while Apaestegui got hers.

That's because officials at the Ohio Department of Public Safety are questioning whether the federal program actually does confer legal status. And, as a result, the state's deputy registrars have been left without any guidance. Some have issued driver's licenses, others have refused.

In January, Mendez, born in Mexico and living in Cleveland, said hepresented his paperwork to an Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Parma but was denied a license.

"A woman at the bureau told me, 'You're not even supposed to be in this country,'" said Mendez who works shining shoes in a downtown office building.

But Apaestegui, born in Peru and living in Stow, had a different experience. She took her paperwork to a BMV office in Cuyahoga Falls in December and got a license.

"I just showed them the documents I had and that was it," she said. "Simple."

The federal program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals -- known as DACA -- was established last year by the Obama administration.

It gives immigrants who came here illegally as children two years of legal status so they can work, go to school and live like any U.S. citizen. The status is renewable every two years.

As of January, more than 150,000 young people nationwide had been approved for the program, according to government figures.

Some states have embraced the initiative, issuing driver's licenses to those in the program. Other states are denying licenses.

Ohio appears to be in limbo.

Joe Andrews, spokesman for Ohio's Department of Public Safety, which oversees the BMV, said the department's lawyers are studying the federal program to see whether "it coincides with Ohio Revised Code."

Andrews said the federal language is unclear and the department's lawyers were "trying to determine whether or not it does confer legal status."

"A decision has not yet been made," he said Friday. "We have not issued any guidance to (BMV offices)."

But Cleveland immigration lawyer David Leopold said Ohio "is on thin ice."

"They're wrong and they're ignoring the law," he said. "The State of Ohio needs to look at the law and look at the guidance established by Homeland Security. I'd be happy to walk them through it.

"These two young people have faced deportation their whole lives. Now they have all the documents giving them legal status. Who is the State of Ohio to second-guess that?"

Asked why one Ohio BMV office would issue a license to an immigrant, while another office would not, Leopold said, "because you're dealing with bureaucrats and bureaucrats need some guidance."

On Feb. 8,a petition signed by more than 200 people -- including Leopold -- urged Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Ohio Registrar Mike Rankin to direct all license bureaus in the state to issue licenses to those who qualify under the federal program.

A spokesman said DeWine was not immediately available for comment on Friday. But the spokesman added that DeWine's role would be only to advise the Department of Public Safety on the issue.